Youssou N’Dour

Celestial singer and prodigious composer, producer and bandleader Youssou N’Dour pioneered mbalax, fusing traditional Senegalese percussion and griot singing with Afro-Cuban and indigenous dance/pop flavors. With his band the Super Étoile, he is one of the most revered musicians in Africa and in the ever-growing Senegalese diaspora. Named in TIME magazine’s annual list of “the hundred men and women whose power, talent or moral example is transforming the world,” Grammy winner Youssou’s rootedness in Senegalese music and storytelling remains the hallmark of his artistic personality. Youssou was with us for our opening season in 2005 – we’re thrilled to have him back.